Pinned post for Q&A :)

“The Royal Navy never liked getting into a fair fight if they could possibly avoid it” Classic!

The part about the German officer telling a British prisoner the damage wouldn't take long to repair only for the destroyer's payload to go off was movie like comedic timing.

TONIGHT
Hammond flashes an older code in front of the Germans, James rigs up the explosives on HMS Campbeltown and I ram the ship on the dry docks.
Truly the greatest raid of all

The great thing is also, the guy on the barge that was boarded firing the machine gun until he died got the VC after the war... by recommendation of Kapitänleutnant Friedrich Karl Paul, the guy commanding Jaguar at that time

My great uncle (commando) narrowly avoided death on this raid by dint of being absent on his honeymoon. His whole squad was wiped out at St. Nazaire. He had previously been on the Vaagso raid and would later fight in Italy before being parachuted into Yugoslavia to assist Tito.

One thing - the Brits also considered using a Polish destroyer, ORP "Burza" as the ramming ship; the Royal Navy did't liked it because it was made in a french shipyard, and there were some problems with  the spare parts for her. But the Polish Navy said "no", because it was one of the few ships really owned by the Polish Government.

Served on the Type 22 Frigate HMS Campbeltown, in 1992 we took the remaining survivors to St. Nazaire to commentate the 50th anniversary of Operation Chariot. I was part of the guard that was inspected by Prince Phillip and some French dignitaries, RN marched through the streets of St. Nazaire whilst the bloody French matelots arrived in bleedin’ coaches 😒

German Officer: "This won't take long at all to repair. Why don't you just tell me the full plan already?"
Boom
Commando: "That was the plan. Little later than expected."

The award of the VC to Thomas Durrant of ML 306 has an interesting history.  It was one of the very few that was made upon the recommendation of an enemy officer,  Kapitänleutnant F. K. Paul, captain of the German destroyer Jaguar. Paul, a humane man, called for Durrant to stop shooting but was answered by a burst of fire.  

After the action, Paul met the leader of the raid, Lt Col Newman, and recounted the action recommending that Durrant, who had died in hospital, receive the highest award possible.

One other quirk.  It is probably the only time when a soldier was awarded the VC for a purely naval action.

"I'm afraid this battleship will be fully operational when your friends arrive..."

My father, Richard Collinson is quoted in the video. Following the sinking of the ML, the crew swam through the burning oily water and came ashore at the Old Mole.  They sheltered in the lighthouse until the morning and then surrendered.  They were then taken to Rennes for questioning before being transported to Germany in cattle trucks. He spent the rest of the war as a POW in Marlag Milag Nord at Westertimke, famous for Albert RN. That's another story.

Hope Drach doesn't mind me saying this but If you enjoyed this, after watching this video I would also recommend Jeremy Clarkson's "The Greatest Raid Of All" documentary about the same raid, it is incredible.

The irony of the most famous of the "four-stack" American destroyer being a repurposed explosive ram in Royal Navy service, is quite thick.

"Hello port, I will show you what the word 'destroyer' means' "

Lt Nigel Thomas Bethune Tibbits DSC 1913-1942., an RN explosives expert, was responsible for designing the bomb, calculating the amount of explosives required and where the explosives should be placed. On the run up to the drydock gates the vessel was under heavy fire, the helmsman was killed, the man who took over from him was killed almost immediately. A Royal Engineer took the helm briefly, Lt Tibbits then took the helm as the Campbeltown made its final run to the target while still under heavy fire. He made a vital course correction as the ship was heading for the wrong target, it smashed into the drydock gate and the explosives in the hull were directly over the gate, just as Lt Tibbits had planned. The commandos then proceeded to assault various installations in the dockyard while fighting the German troops. When the Campbeltown eventually exploded the drydock was destroyed & out of commission for the remainder of the war.  Lt Tibbits was killed while trying to get back to England on one of the escorting motor launches, his body was never recovered. He is commemorated on the Royal Navy memorial in Portsmouth.

To quote my own video. “Instead of infiltrating with the bomb… how about infiltrating ON the bomb”

Only a little comment really. The Distinguished Conduct Medal should have been noted immediately after the Victoria Cross! The DCM was the second highest award for Courage in the British Army, which at the time had a tiered Award system for every award EXCEPT the Victoria and George Cross. Its why you see Military Medal and Military Cross, they are the same award essentially, its just the Cross was for Officers, the Medal for Other Ranks. Even the ribbon was the same.

The DCM was an other ranks award, and could NOT be awarded to officers. The Officers equivalent was the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), but that could be awarded for services other than courage in the face of the enemy. The DCM could not. A soldier who was awarded a DCM was almost certainly put forward for a VC.... Just to highlight the kind of action required for someone to be given that medal....

My grandfather was Bob Hoyle No 12 commando unit. His small team were on Cambletown and charged with blowing the winding house. He was taken prisoner after the action.

British squadie: "We're entering a serious combat situation & I'm bored."
Makes a soap sandwhich
Squadie: "Here, John. Eat this."